Svetlana Barteneva

Svetlana Barteneva is a biologist and Head of Science of the Marine Megafauna Conservation Organisation (MMCO). Despite the fact that Svetlana has a Master's degree in Management and has been successfully engaged in business for a significant part of her life, she has always been passionate about wildlife and actively participated in nature conservation activities and projects, including the ID-project of sperm whales in the Azores, the protection of green turtles in Indonesia and others. About ten years ago, Svetlana decided to finally change the field of her activity and received her second higher education in two specialties: Biology and Ichthyology. For the past three years, Svetlana has been living in Mauritius and is engaged in the study and conservation of marine megafauna (cetaceans, sharks and turtles), leading research projects of MMCO, is actively involved in educational activities among the local population, both adults and children, as well as visitors to the island in order to raise awareness and involve communities in conservation. Her focus is on the conservation of biodiversity, especially endangered species, using an ecosystem approach and the integration of marine megafauna into marine spatial planning. Svetlana is a member of The Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM).